Field Trials
by NancyY
Summary: Amanda is scheduled to certify in her final training class - Trouble ensues.


Field Trials  
  
Author: NancyY  
  
Rating : PG  
  
Disclaimer: SMK and its fine characters are copyrighted  
creations. I am borrowing them only for recreational reasons and  
will make to money from this (or any other) story. I retain the  
rights to any character I may create.  
  
Summery: Amanda is scheduled to certify in her final training  
class.  
  
Warning: No wildlife was injured in the creation of this  
FanFic.  
  
------------------------------------------------------  
  
Friday - 2:30 p.m.  
  
The minute hand crawled slowly around the face of the large clock over the office door. One minute, then just one long minute more. Amanda beat the eraser end of her slightly chewed pencil rapidly against the blank legal pad in front of her, the staccato tap-tap-tap of rubber hitting paper matching almost exactly the ticking of the clock. She had long since given up any pretense of productivity, and sat at her desk waiting for the hour hand to strike three.  
  
She had just begun to speed up the tempo when a familiar hand closed gently over hers, stilling the rat-a-tat-tat and causing her to nearly jump out of her skin. She looked up into Lee Stetson's warm hazel eyes, and smiled sheepishly as he gently pried the pencil from her suddenly nerveless fingers and placed it deliberately out of her reach.  
  
He still was able to sneak up on her un-noticed.  
  
"Nervous, aren't we?" he asked rhetorically, since Amanda's tension was painfully obvious.  
  
"Yeah," she answered as she took a deep breath to steady her jangled nerves.  
  
Lee rested his hip on the edge of her desk and picked up her hand, "Amanda, you've been through all of the other training classes - very successfully I might add. You passed Surveillance with flying colors, aced Deductive Reasoning, and are certified on several weapons - at least 4 now, I think - right?  
  
Amanda nodded, remembering how difficult weapons training had been - she still didn't like handling guns.  
  
"OK," he continued, "So why are you so worried about this one? Its just Hide-and-Seek!"  
  
"It's the last class." She said softly as she looked up into those amazing eyes, "The last one. If I certify in Survival and Evasion, I'll really be an agent."  
  
Lee shook his head, "Amanda, you are an agent now, and my partner. You have been for some time, both un-officially and officially. I know I don't always tell you how much you mean to me as partner...."  
  
She gently put her fingers to his lips to still his voice. "I know. I should have said 'really 'feel' like an agent'. You completed these classes, right? Everyone here did. I need to know I can do it too. Do you understand?"  
  
Still holding her hand, Lee smiled down at her upturned face, "I do understand - I felt the same way."  
  
Bending over, he gently kissed her forehead and promised, "You'll do just fine."  
  
Friday - 3:00 p.m.  
  
Amanda poked her head into Billy's office at precisely 3:00 p.m., waiting in the doorway to catch his attention. He looked up from the brief he had been reading and then glanced quickly at his watch. "It's 3:00 already, isn't it? Come in and have a seat. I just another minute to finish this and then we can go over the testing scheduled for this weekend." As his eyes dropped back down to the page in front of him, he had to stifle a smile. Amanda positively radiated nervousness.  
  
After he finished and signed off on the report, he looked up and caught Amanda's eyes. "OK, lets go over the your scenario for this weekend..." He started.  
  
Amanda sat up in her chair and focused on his every word with almost comical attention.  
  
Billy understood completely how much passing this last test meant to Amanda - and the good ones always worried the most. Struggling to keep a fond smile off his face, he continued. "You will be flown by helicopter to a pre- determined location in the Cascade Range, and should arrive before 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning. Once there, you will be met by three of our instructors, who will explain the entire scenario to you in more detail. You are not to bring anything with you, just the clothes on your back. Anything else you might need will be provided to you at the location."  
  
He paused for a moment to make sure that he still had her complete attention. "Your goal is simple - you must survive alone in the wilderness and evade capture until Monday at 3:00 p.m. You can receive no outside help. In this scenario, Amanda, capture means death."  
  
Her eyes started to widen and he added quickly, "Figuratively, of course - the enemy will be armed only with air guns and paint cartridges.'"  
  
He continued, "There are no rules for this exercise - none at all. You must do whatever you can to survive, and your pursuers will do anything they can to stop you. If you are able to survive, evade capture, and meet the returning helicopter on Monday at precisely 3:00 p.m., you will receive your certification for the course.  
  
Lee slipped into the room just Billy finished and plopped into the other vacant chair. His boss looked at him over the tops of his reading glasses. "Yes, Scarecrow?'  
  
"I thought I would offer to take Amanda up by helicopter. You know I'm always looking for more air time." He offered innocently.  
  
Billy eyed the two agents in front of him with suspicion. Since the Stemwinder fiasco, these two were closer than ever, and it both pleased and worried him. He approved wholeheartedly of the changes he had witnessed in Lee, and knew that most of them were due to Amanda's influence. He also knew that with that kind of closeness could come worry, jealousy, and pain - all of which could compromise effectiveness and objectivity.  
  
It was his job to bring them back to earth. "Lee, this is something Amanda needs to do on her own. We don't want there to be any hint of favoritism. Communication Zero - do I make myself clear?"  
  
"I understand." Lee agreed. "I'll just fly her up there tomorrow morning and be there to bring her back after the exercise is over. No interference. No problem."  
  
Against his better judgment, Billy finally nodded in resignation.  
  
Friday Evening - 6:47 p.m.  
  
A shadow watched them, smoldering eyes fixed intently on the three men sharing the small campfire in front of the small cabin. They were laughing...Oh yes...laughing and telling stories. Stories about missions past, and the training session to come. Laughing about me.......  
  
He settled his cheek against the rifle and carefully adjusted the sight. A deep breath and a gentle squeeze, then two more in quick succession.  
  
Who said he would never shoot Marksman?  
  
Must have been the wind.......  
  
Saturday - 6:00 a.m. Somewhere over the Cascade Range  
  
"There it is." Lee pointed ahead to a meadow below and to the left of the helicopter's blunt nose. Amanda could see a winding path leading from the landing area to a small building approximately 50 yards into the forest as Lee maneuvered the helicopter skillfully through the trees, bringing it down to land lightly in the middle of the clearing.  
  
Amanda remembered her one and only attempt to fly a helicopter, not long after she and Lee had first met. It was harder than it looked. Smiling her approval at his adroit handling of the controls, she leaned over and took his face in her hands, pulling him in for a quick kiss, which soon deepened. Still cradling his face, she finally pulled herself away, smiling.  
  
"I'm going to miss you, big fellah," she said in a husky voice, and as usual, the love in her eyes and the gentle touch of her hands warmed his heart and reminded him that he was the luckiest man on earth.  
  
Laughing, he pulled both of her hands away from his face and held them in his own, pulling them up to his lips. Kissing her hands, he could feel that her fingers were ice cold and trembling slightly.  
  
He whispered in a gentle voice, "Still nervous, huh?" and kissed her hands again when she nodded.  
  
"You'll do just fine." he assured her as he slid out of the cockpit to walk around to her side. Opening her door, he helped her out, and then gathered her into a bear hug. "I love you!"  
  
She relaxed into the embrace; raising her lips to his ear, "Mmmm....love you too." she whispered fondly, then pushed herself reluctantly out of his arms.  
  
With one final backward glance, Amanda started up the trail to the shack she had spotted from the air. Lee watched her out of sight, and then watched the empty path for several minutes more, before turning slowly back to the helicopter.  
  
From this distance, even under the tree cover, Amanda could feel the breeze from the blades as Lee's helicopter lifted from the clearing and flew swiftly overhead, and she watched it skim the treetops before disappearing into the pale sunrise. Amanda took another of those deep, steadying breaths and stood straight, pulling her shoulders back, reining in her worry and all the old doubts.  
  
She was on her own.  
  
Walking up the path, Amanda approached the old cabin cautiously, and with growing trepidation - there were no signs that anyone else was waiting here. Stepping up to the doorway, she leaned inside and scanned the small room.  
  
Nothing but a heavy wooden table against the back wall, and several roving dust bunnies blowing in the slight breeze created when she opened the door.  
  
She started to walk back out the front door and head around the building to check out the back of the cabin, but was driven back inside as a gunshot whistled only inches past her head to slam into the doorframe. Amanda crossed the room in two panicked strides and slid under the table, breathing in short gasps.  
  
This wasn't the scenario, and that was certainly no paint gun.  
  
But Billy said there were no rules....  
  
Maybe this WAS the scenario.  
  
Ignoring the rapid pounding of her heart, she quickly scanned the dismal little shack, instinctively looking for anything useful. On her way to the back door, Amanda grabbed several small items from behind the table and off of the floor, shoving anything she could find into the pockets of her jeans - she could decide what might be useful later. Spotting a squashed plastic bottle, she slipped it into her shirt. She made it to the back door and tried to turn the handle, but to her utter horror it was locked. She twisted and yanked at it several times, feeling like nothing more that a rabbit in a snare, waiting for the trapper's approach.  
  
She would have to get out of the front door and past the shooter somehow - there was no other way. They were Agency trained instructors of course, but so she was trained by the Agency too. That training took over as she carefully raised her head to look out the only window, which was cracked and frosted from age. She could not see her attackers but knew from the trajectory of the bullet approximately where they must be hiding.  
  
Certainly, they were still watching.  
  
Two more sharp retorts sliced through the cold mountain air, the first shot whipping through the open front door to bury itself in the wall beyond. The second shattered the window above Amanda's head, raining down glass shards as she rolled away, squealing in surprise.  
  
Adrenaline started to overcome training as she scuttled quickly backward, and then on to her feet with an awkward lurch. Remembering at the last moment to keep her head low, she fairly flew through the shack and connected solidly with the locked back door, hitting it broadside - shoulder first. She had no time to register her surprise as the door gave way almost immediately - the rusty hinges pulling away from the door-jam - sending both the door and Amanda slamming down on to the back porch with a lung emptying BANG. Her forward momentum continued to carry them over the edge of the rotting deck and 50 feet down into the dry streambed behind the shack.  
  
Clinging to the door in terror, Amanda rode it down like a giant sled, forced to let go only when it stopped short against a large rock 10 feet from the bottom, spilling her end-over-end into the stream-bed. Without any hesitation she rolled to her feet and ran along the gully, thankful for the cover that kept her out of sight from her pursuers.  
  
She ran for what felt like miles, keeping to the dry bed until the ground leveled out, and then aiming for a ridge of rocks high above. She climbed through up the loose shale and in between the boulders, until the pain in her lungs tried to drag her to a reluctant stop. Afraid that once she stopped, she would not be able to go on again, Amanda forced herself even farther up, finally sliding to a halt in front of a small crevasse nearly hidden by the shadows of the rocks above. She slid into the meager shelter she until hit the back wall, finally allowing exhaustion to force her down into a sitting position, her knees drawn almost to her chin.  
  
As her slight body jerked with the force of her gasping breaths, she tried to focus enough to take stock of her situation. Her shoulder and hip hurt from her contact with the door, and she could feel cuts and scratches on her face and could see them on her hands - but nothing serious.  
  
To keep her mind occupied as she recovered from a painful stitch in her side, she dug around for the objects she had picked up during her flight, placing them one-by-one on the ground in front of her.  
  
- Several loose pieces of brown twine - 3 large paperclips - 1 opened pack of stale chewing gum. - 1 squashed plastic bottle.  
  
Not much against several trained and well-armed agents, Amanda thought, sucking in a sharp gasp when her aching shoulder bumped against the cold wall of her shelter. She fought down another wave of fear - she didn't understand this scenario at all. Billy had said that she would be met by course instructors, and would be stalked by agents with paint guns. So far, nothing had followed the plan.  
  
"No rules." she mumbled under her breath. Billy had also said there were no rules. It must be part of the test. It had to be. Perhaps the gunshots were supposed to knock her out of her comfort zone, or to add reality to the scenario. If so, they had succeeded.  
  
There was just no other explanation.  
  
She had never felt so alone in her life.  
  
Amanda gathered up her meager assets and placed them carefully into the blue bandana that she had been using for a headband. Tying the ends together securely, she attached the makeshift knapsack to her belt and slipped silently from her hiding place.  
  
Time to move again.  
  
Saturday Morning - 6:11 a.m.  
  
Stupid.... Stupid...STUPID!  
  
The watcher pounded his fist on the ground until pain reminded him that he must not injure his hands. They were his instruments. Instruments of justice...of vengeance.  
  
His first shot had simply missed, but the last two were fired in anger. Not good...no...not professional at all. An agent must be in control at all times...A kill must be clean....  
  
He had the power this time - he was in control - only he. He had been surprised to see a woman though, and it only made his anger stronger and more keen, the ultimate rejection more complete. They were wrong, all of them. They were fools and they were wrong.  
  
Wrong....  
  
He shouldered his rifle and tucked his Glock pistol into his vest, then began to track his prey into the forest. He would finish what he had started.  
  
He would show them all.  
  
It shouldn't take long...  
  
Saturday Morning - 11:30 a.m. The Agency  
  
"Francine, try one more time." Billy called out as he sat behind his desk and fidgeted with the edge of his desk blotter, curling and un-curling the corners. A vague sense of foreboding crept around the edges of his mind, but nothing he could put his finger on - yet.  
  
Having just returned from delivering the Agency helicopter to its hanger, Lee strode through the Bullpen and directly into Billy's office - avoiding the Q Bureau for the moment. It was too quiet without Amanda there. As he entered the office, years of friendship and familiarity triggered concern as Lee saw the expression on Billy's face.  
  
"Is there a problem, Billy?" he asked.  
  
"Lee, did you notice anything unusual when you dropped Amanda off?" the older agent responded to his question with a question.  
  
Lee's expression began to mirror Billy's as he through for a moment. "No, everything looked just fine. Why? What's wrong?" Le leaned toward the desk, placing his hand on it for support.  
  
Billy noted Lee's body language and shook his head, gesturing negation. "I don't think there is anything wrong, Lee, but the instructors monitoring the exercise did not check in after they sent Amanda into the field. Check in was supposed to be at 8:00 a.m."  
  
He continued when Lee still looked worried, "Remember the last training class we held in that area - the one in June?"  
  
Lee nodded, "Yeah, the one where everything that could go wrong - did. The communication system went on the fritz that time too, didn't it?"  
  
"Among other things." Billy replied, shaking his head. "The system was repaired, but."  
  
Recent budget cuts had sliced into repair and service programs throughout the Agency, and Billy felt the odds were good that this communication snafu was another symptom.  
  
"I could fly back up..." Lee offered, hoping that Billy would agree.  
  
"No, not yet. Lets give them a few hours to get it straightened out." Billy responded." We don't want to interrupt Amanda's test unless it is an emergency."  
  
Saturday Afternoon - 2:13 p.m.  
  
Amanda moved quietly and quickly, never staying in one place for long and heading deeper and deeper into the forest with every step. With no compass, she tried to keep the sun over her left shoulder, and move downhill when she could in the hopes of find a stream or water source.  
  
Thirst was already becoming a constant unwelcome companion.  
  
Walking between the closely spaced trees, she tried to speculate on which tools her pursuers were using to locate her. If they had sound or heat detectors, then hiding in one place would be foolish. Deciding that a moving target would be harder to capture, she moved as carefully as she could, staying off soft ground, not breaking grass or twigs, and keeping near the trees.  
  
As the afternoon wore on, she was becoming increasingly tired and very, very thirsty. Suddenly, the sweet melody of moving water caressed her ears, stopping her in her tracks. Amanda turned and hurried toward the source of the sound, thirst overriding both caution and training.  
  
Dropping to her knees beside the blessed little spring that bubbled from under the rocks piled at the valley floor, she cupped both hands and drank greedily. After her thirst was satisfied, the need for caution again rose foremost in her mind and she slipped back into the shadows, worried now about the visible imprints of her hands and knees that she had left in the muddy bank.  
  
She tried unsuccessfully to erase the telltale prints from the sucking mud, finally moving several wet leaves to cover them. Stepping only on the rounded river rocks at the water's edge, she made her way downstream to a small, clear pool, where the bank consisted of sand and gravel and approached the water more carefully. She bent down to fill the squashed water bottle, which - to her annoyance - promptly began to leak from several places.  
  
Knowing that the her trackers would be able to follow her more easily if she stayed by the water, Amanda knew she would have to avoid coming to drink for as long as she could hold out. Food she could do without if she had to, but not water. Carrying water was going to be a necessity.  
  
Inspiration struck as she remembered the stale gum in her knapsack. She unwrapped two pieces and carefully brushed off the visible surface dirt and lint. Trying not to worry about where they might have been before she picked the up off of the floor, she chewed them slowly, grimacing with distaste. It was like chewing wood planks, but at least the strong smell of cinnamon was pleasant. It took several minutes to soften them up enough to pull small, sticky pieces away from the wad and plug the holes in the bottle. Filling it, she used the rest of the wad to seal the top so the water wouldn't splash out. Finally, using one of her precious pieces of string, she tied her makeshift canteen securely to her belt.  
  
Feeling more confident now that she had a small but secure water supply, Amanda turned her back on the stream and began to climb up toward the ridge of rocks that rimmed the narrow valley.  
  
The sun was past its zenith and starting its descent into the horizon, and she knew she needed to start thinking about a safe place to hide for the night. As she ventured up through the underbrush, taking great care not to disturb the leaf litter under her feet, she kept watch for any cave, crevasse, or overhang that would protect her from the elements and allow a bit of sleep when darkness fell.  
  
Saturday - 3:07 p.m. Billy's office  
  
Lee responded to Billy's summons a bit too eagerly, striding into his office and promptly began pacing. Billy watched him for a moment, noting his agitation, and finally gestured for him to sit down.  
  
"Before you ask - No, I haven't heard anything." Billy began, holding his hand up in a silencing gesture to forestall any questions.  
  
"Lee I'm going to authorize you to take the copter back up there with replacement communications equipment, but..." He pointed a finger at the younger man and repeated, "BUT I don't want you to interfere with Amanda's testing in ANY way is that clear?"  
  
Lee nodded, his mind already miles away. He knew that he wouldn't be able to relax until he was sure that Amanda was safe.  
  
Saturday Afternoon - 5:15 p.m.  
  
From her vantage point up in the boulders overlooking the valley floor, Amanda could see the armed man walking slowly along the narrow deer path far below. She felt the cool touch of the stones through the thin flannel of her shirt as she slid silently to the edge on her stomach to get a clearer view. She could just make out the rifle that he carried. Something wasn't right, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. As he passed directly beneath her hiding place, she leaned out a bit further, trying get a better view. Her movement dislodged several pebbles, which bounced down the cliff face to the trail below. The man in black stopped at the sound and looked straight up to where she lay hidden.  
  
Worried that she might have given away her hiding place, she began to slide backward, intending to move farther out of sight along the rocks...  
  
...and then froze, fear prickling up and down her spine - her heart hammering erratically in her chest.  
  
She could feel it beside her, slithering against her ribs. Softly at first, and then with gathering momentum, an unmistakable buzz assaulted her ears. Amanda forgot about the test, forgot about the man below, and forgot how to breathe.  
  
Seconds turned into decades as the rattlesnake remained stubbornly beside her, the tip of its tail finally stilling as her movements ceased. After awhile, it seemed to decide that she posed no threat, and even moved closer to her warm body, tucking itself tightly against her left hip.  
  
Unfortunately, one can only hold one's breath for just so long...  
  
Almost paralyzed with fear, Amanda held her breath until black spots clouded her vision, trying to imagine her body rooted solidly to the unforgiving stone beneath it - immovable and cold. Finally, she was forced to draw in first one tremulous breath, and then another.  
  
The rattle resumed, rising and falling with each breath she took.  
  
She was afraid to turn her head to look at it - still afraid to move at all. After what seemed like eons, the persistent buzz of the snake's rattle quieted again, as it became accustomed to the rise and fall of her ribs as she breathed.  
  
Amanda wanted to jump up and run. She wanted the snake to just go away. She wanted... Oh, how she wanted Lee.  
  
Now.  
  
Right here.  
  
But no white knight would ride in to save her this time.  
  
Desperate, Amanda began to shift her weight gingerly onto her right arm and leg, just a tiny bit at a time. When her movements disturbed her companion, the intensity of its rattle would increase, and she froze until it quieted, then began again.  
  
Finally, after taking as deep a breath as she dared, Amanda gathered all her courage and threw herself to the right, away from the snake. Disturbed, it coiled and raised its head menacingly, but did not strike out at her as she rolled out of range.  
  
She stopped moving only when her back came up against cold stone, and she shifted up until she stood against the rocks, her escape still blocked by the rattlesnake. For an impossibly long moment, her frightened brown eyes were lost in beady black ones...  
  
...then the moment passed.  
  
The snake relaxed its tight coils and flowed out of its protective ball, disappearing without a backward glance into a tiny crack in the rocks beneath it. Amanda stayed immobile for several minutes, trying to catch her breath and still her trembling hands.  
  
With a visible start she remembered her pursuer below. Keeping her back to the rock face, she edged over and looked down. There was no sign of him.  
  
Keeping her head low, Amanda ran across the ridge rocks and then down into the trees below, praying that she was not heading directly into the enemy.  
  
Saturday Afternoon - 5:16 p.m.  
  
He glanced up sharply as a small cascade of pebbles tumbled down the hillside to skitter across the trail and settle at his feet. Could she be hiding up there? He quickly pulled his Glock from his vest and began the climb toward the ridge above, stopping only when a squirrel bounced out from beneath the rocks overhead and scolded him soundly. When it whirled away, it's flashing tail sent another small avalanche to joint the first.  
  
Hands shaking, he had aimed at it, and was a hairs-breath away from pulling the trigger before he realized firing would give away his position.  
  
Game over on account of squirrel.  
  
He could loose the element of surprise---and did he have a surprise for her...Oh yes...  
  
Sliding back down the hill, he decided to travel along the muddy streambed and back toward the cabin for the night. Refreshed, he would pick up her trail in the morning.  
  
Two hours later found him slowly trudging toward the shack with his feet and temples pounding from fatigue. Altitude – that's all it is – he thought as he neared the clearing – I am in perfect shape – a good agent must be in top shape at all times.  
  
Lost in the twisting pathways of his delusional thoughts, he didn't hear the helicopter until it was almost directly overhead.  
  
He quickened his pace...  
  
Saturday evening - 5:45 p.m. Dusk - in the air  
  
As the first streaks of pale orange on the horizon heralded the coming sunset, Lee maneuvered the helicopter back toward the Agency's high mountain training grounds, ignoring the growing ache in his stomach and trying to loosen his death grip on the controls.  
  
He wasn't worried, he told himself, not at all.  
  
He knew that Amanda could take care of herself - heck, she had often taken care of him as well, even before receiving her formal training. He had offered to bring up the new communications equipment to be helpful - that was all.  
  
Of course he was also curious about his partner's progress. That was perfectly natural. Just curious - nothing wrong with that. He knew how much passing this course meant to Amanda - how seriously she took it. The way she threw herself enthusiastically into whatever she did was one of the many things he loved about her.  
  
He was just curious...  
  
...or maybe concerned. Concerned could be the right word, he thought to himself as he nodded his head.  
  
Concerned.  
  
The nod turned into a headshake and the muscles in his jaw started to twitch. Who was he trying to kid?  
  
Lee was worried.  
  
Saturday - 6:18 p.m. In the woods  
  
After doubling back along her own path for the third time to confuse her tracker, Amanda climbed up a rocky hillside and settled herself out of sight behind a large moss speckled boulder, trying to take stock of her situation and decide what to do for the night. Being driven further and further from Monday's rendezvous point had begun to worry her. Unfortunately, he had worked as hard to stay between her and the clearing as she had struggled to stay near it.  
  
Oh, but she was hungry.  
  
The brilliant sunset blazed gloriously across the darkening sky, and on any other night she would have enjoyed the ever-changing kaleidoscope of colors.  
  
Any other night she might have had Lee to share it with.  
  
Still, she allowed herself a few minutes to appreciate the display, as she popped the hardening wad of gum from the top of her water bottle and swallowed half of the faintly cinnamon flavored liquid. For just a moment her ravenous hunger and the cold of the approaching dark were forgotten.  
  
She struggled to her feet just as the flames in the sky dulled to gray. Re- tying her bottle to her belt, Amanda forced her wandering thoughts from Lee, from food, from anything other than the need for shelter. Stepping cautiously from the protection of her boulder, she slipped unseen into the night.  
  
Saturday - 6:23 p.m.  
  
The last vestiges of light were fading as Lee landed the Agency helicopter in the meadow. He left the cockpit light on and the door open as he swung his long legs to the ground, ducking instinctively under the still moving blades as he headed for the cabin. He rummaged around in the pocket of his flight jacket for his little penlight, clicking it on and shining it on the rough ground beneath his feet.  
  
The little cabin was shrouded in darkness and only Lee's familiarity with the training grounds led him to it. Odd - there were no lights visible. In these scenarios, one agent usually monitored the test from the shack, communicating via long-range walkie-talkies with two others who roughed it - tracking the trainee.  
  
The nagging worry that had been plaguing him all day roared into high gear, causing his steps to lengthen, until he was jogging up the slope. Finally, caution again prevailed and he slipped into the shadows of the trees as he neared the shack, reaching for his gun and grasping it firmly in his sweaty hand. He circled the building from the brush cover, looking for any signs of life.  
  
Nothing.  
  
He approached carefully, ducking his head into the front door, and was rewarded with a dark, cold silence.  
  
No one there...  
  
He passed through the main room to the back door, and was surprised to find it missing. Moving back through the room, he studied the fresh bullet holes in the front door jam, and noticed the other round lodged in the back wall. The only widow had apparently been blown out from the outside, showering glass shards over the dusty floor.  
  
There were no Agency personnel, no communication equipment, and no sign of Amanda.  
  
His fear increasing, he walked around the outside of the building, stopping with a sudden dark premonition at the firewood-box to the left of the front porch. Flipping the heavy lid up, he aimed his flashlight into it as he peered inside.  
  
The dead bodies of three of Lee's colleagues lay tangled in a careless heap, like discarded playthings in a child's toy box. Clenching his jaw and already turning, he let the lid fall as launched himself off the porch, racing for the clearing and the communication equipment in the helicopter, only to skid to a stop as an explosion rocked the ground beneath his feet, lighting up the sky.  
  
Panting, he dived into the cover of the trees that circled the meadow where he had left the helicopter.  
  
Left...  
  
There was nothing in the clearing now but a glowing fireball. He quickly scanned the flickering darkness around him but saw no one and heard nothing but the popping of the flames. Knowing that the enemy - whoever they were - must have seen him, he waited impatiently in the shadows for them to show themselves. After several long minutes passed with no sign of the enemy, Lee turned and headed into the forest. He needed to avoid capture, find a way to communicate with Billy, and find his Amanda.  
  
He tried to push back his anxiety before it clouded his judgment. He needed to be sharp, now; Amanda was not among the dead at the cabin, and the unseen enemy still lurked in the darkness nearby. Everything pointed to the fact that Amanda was still here, somewhere. He decided to head for higher ground and hole up for the night. Come morning he would find out what was going on. He would find her. As he climbed, his mind raced - was she hurt? Was she with the enemy, or were they hunting her?  
  
He would not even entertain the thought that she might already be dead.  
  
He did not see the shadow that haunted the meadow when it finally slipped into the shelter of the trees.  
  
Saturday Evening - 6:24 p.m.  
  
Darkness fell swiftly and still Amanda had not been able to find shelter, and she was too worried about the proximity of her pursuer to attempt to build one. The moon was a slim crescent in the sky, giving off very little light as Amanda climbed back up into the rocks to survey the valley.  
  
It was too dark to see far.  
  
She crawled under the spreading branches of a stately pine tree, its sharp scent soothing her as she scraped the carpet of pine needs into some semblance of a bed. Ignoring her prickly mattress and the incessant growling of her empty stomach she curled on her side an promptly fell asleep, wishing, not for the last time, that Lee was curled around her.  
  
The low growling woke her abruptly. For a moment she though it was her own empty belly, then she realized it came from behind her. She scrambled to her feet and whirled, instinctively keeping the tree trunk between her and the ominous sound. Blinking and trying to focus her eyes in the dark, she could just make out the hulking shape not 20 feet away. Snuffing and growling to itself, a huge black bear lumbered slowly toward her.  
  
Trying to remember every nature program she had ever seen, and the contents of every Junior Trailblazer leaflet, Amanda backed away, still trying to keep the tree between them. 'With a black bear do you play dead, or do you stand up and act aggressive?' she tried to remember. With one kind of bear you were supposed to do the one thing, and with another type of bear, the other. Which was which?  
  
The only thing she wanted to do was run, and that would surely bring the bear after her.  
  
Amanda continued to back up, with the bear following her every movement, until her left hip came up against the bark of another tree. Knowing that bears climb very well, and that she was probably trapping herself, she finally gave in to fear and shinnied up the tree, reaching frantically for the progressively smaller and smaller branches.  
  
Unfortunately, it was not a tall tree.  
  
The bear followed her cautiously to the base of the tree and reared up slowly, placing his huge clawed feet on the trunk and pushing experimentally. There was no anger in its manner, but Amanda thought she could see a sort of speculation in its small black eyes.  
  
Hunger.  
  
It pushed at the trunk again, and this time the tree swayed. Amanda, panicked now, tried to climb further up, but the small tree offered scant protection.  
  
Wrapping its strong forelegs around the narrow trunk, the bear began to climb up into the tree after her. Amanda, her heart beating so frantically that she was afraid the bear could hear it, pushed herself even farther upwards between smaller and smaller branches until she swayed in the tree's crown and still the bear followed, testing that each branch would hold its considerable weight. Reaching upward again in the futile hope that there was another branch that could hold her weight, the top of her head connected with a solid object above with enough force to make her ears ring.  
  
Looking up, she realized that her tree was nestled beneath a much larger one, and her head had connected to one of its lower branches. Wrapping her arms tightly around the proffered limb, she tried to pull herself up and into the larger tree, hoping against hope that the crown of the smaller one was not sturdy enough to hold the large bear's weight.  
  
As she tried to complete the transfer with one last desperate leap, the bear made a surprising lunge and swiped at her, snagging her left tennis shoe with its claws. A frantic tug-of-war ensued, as Amanda dangled from the branch, 20 feet above the forest floor.  
  
She squealed as it finally ripped the shoe from her foot. Free now, and with her last ounce of strength, she dragged herself up onto the branch, maneuvering until she could wrap both her arms and legs around it.. She watched in relief as the bear overbalanced, and then dropped heavily to the ground with a disappointed grunt.  
  
She forced herself to loosen her death grip and scoot slowly backward until her rear-end contacted the solid trunk behind her. Adrenaline gave new strength to her arms as Amanda slid around, stood on the limb, and reached for a handhold above her head, praying all the while that the bear would not decide to climb into this tree after her.  
  
Saturday Evening 9:07 p.m. At the Agency  
  
Against her better judgment, Francine stopped by Billy's office before she left for home, and found him pacing. "Good, you're still here..." he started, ignoring the long-suffering look on her face.  
  
"No - I am NOT still here, Billy, I was just leaving." She almost whined as she started to back out of his office, intent on a speedy getaway. It had already been a long, long day, and she was exhausted. One good look at his face before she slipped through the door stopped her in her tracks.  
  
Walking back in with a resigned sigh, she asked, "What's up?"  
  
"Thank you, Francine, I know you're tired, but before you go, could you arrange for one of the helicopters to be fueled and ready at first light tomorrow. You and I are going to take a little trip to the mountains."  
  
Sunday morning - 6:17 a.m.  
  
Francine tapped the pilot on the shoulder, gesturing for him to circle the meadow before landing. Billy stared down at the burned out hulk of Lee's helicopter and felt that familiar sick fear growing in the pit of his stomach. Until he had seen it, he could still hope that the weather or another communication snafu had prevented Lee from checking in.  
  
That was obviously not the case.  
  
After a thorough search from the air, Billy ordered the pilot to land. Guns drawn, he and Francine cautiously searched the wreck, and were grateful that no human remains were evident. A more thorough search of the cabin and the area surrounding it uncovered the bodies of the three agents.  
  
Their search had provided no clues the whereabouts of Lee and Amanda, and Billy had no way of knowing if this was good or bad news, "This is a Code Alpha situation, Francine. I need you to call in search teams and forensics." He directed, unable to conceal the worry in his voice.  
  
"Already on the way." She replied, her tone matching his.  
  
Ninety minutes later the area was swarming with federal agents, equipment, and vehicles. Billy met with the operatives who were conducting the physical investigation of the cabin and surrounding forest.  
  
"Mr. Melrose," began Agent Henderson, a small bird-like, be-spectacled young man who would have looked perfectly at home in khaki shorts and a pith helmet, exploring the tombs of ancient Egypt. "Aside from the tracks made by the three deceased agents, I can make out at least three more." He motioned Billy over to a patch of damp earth in front of the cabin.  
  
"Look sir," pointing to several small footprints preserved in the mud. "This one is much smaller than the rest, probably a woman – tall – maybe 5'9" or so. Fairly thin for her height, see how shallow they are?" He followed the direction of the prints with Billy still in tow.  
  
"She walked slowly up to the front door – cautiously – see how close together and light the steps are? She must have entered the cabin and but she didn't exit the same way, since there are no other prints leading out."  
  
They entered the cabin as Henderson continued. "Someone fired a long range rifle into this building. See the bullet in the door-jam, and the one in the back wall? Look over here," He pulled Billy over to the window. "Someone rested on the floor under this window – see the disruption in the dust on the floor? Tall and thin again, probably our woman...you can almost see her imprint. The glass was blown out right as she lay here – see how the falling glass hit the floor in a distinctive pattern – but nothing where she was?"  
  
Billy, amazed as always at Henderson's analysis, nevertheless hoped he would cut to the chase.  
  
The little man continued eagerly as he followed the footprints in the dust on the floor. "Look here, she couldn't get out the front, so she got up and ran to the back door."  
  
They both stared at the gaping hole where the door used to be. Together, they leaned out the opening and looked down over the decking.  
  
"Wow." Henderson breathed in awe after staring first at the splintered doorframe, and then at the door below. He scuttled down the hill, and after studying at the door, walked up and down the streambed. After several minutes, he made his way back up the hill to where Billy waited.  
  
"I think she fell out the back door and....uhh...down the hill." He said, shaking his head in near disbelief and giving Billy the condensed version – what the evidence suggested really happened was just to farfetched. "I found her tracks along the bottom, heading into the forest – and none coming back."  
  
Francine and several other investigators returned from studying the forest edge in front of the cabin. "Billy," Francine began as she wiped futilely at the smudges marring her once pristine white slacks. She groaned as she realized that her dirt-encrusted hands were only making matters worse. "The gentlemen here found two more sets of tracks leading into the forest. Amanda and Lee may still be out there somewhere."  
  
"One set for Amanda behind the cabin and perhaps one for Lee...but who was the third?" Billy mumbled to himself as he turned the facts over in his mind. "...only one shooter?" He speculated.  
  
Billy Melrose stood silently for a moment, exhaling sharply in frustration, then instructed the agents in front of him, "We need to know who is behind this, and why. Find out if any hostiles involved in Lee and Amanda's previous cases are free and in the area. Also, have a team check out the underground chatter and see what rises to the top. Someone knows what happened here, and I want that person – yesterday."  
  
He gestured to Francine. "Our people may still be out there. Round up our pilot; we can co-ordinate a search from the air. "  
  
Sunday Morning - 7:03 a.m.  
  
Stiff with cold and still shaken from last night's ordeal, Amanda looked down at the forest floor from her perch, 50 feet up in the tree. Pine pitch coated her hands, and her arms were scratched and bleeding, but the morning sun shining through the branches of the neighboring trees felt wonderful as it began to slowly warm her skin.  
  
She sat on a wide branch, with her arms wrapped as far as they would go around the trunk, with her face pressed against the rough bark.  
  
It had been a long and uncomfortable night.  
  
The bear had lost interest after it fell from the tree, and had amused itself with gnawing on Amanda's shoe for several minutes, before wandering off into the night. Terrified that it would come back, she spent the rest of the night high in the tree.  
  
As the morning sun warmed the chill from her bones, hunger began to gnaw at her stomach and every thought turned to the food she couldn't have. Her imagination ran wild and she could almost smell her breakfast cooking over an open fire. Finally, tearing her wandering mind away from futile daydreams, Amanda began the long, painful climb down, finally dropping the last 8 feet into the cushion of the leaf litter below.  
  
As she brushed at the pine needle that had embedded themselves in her hands when she landed, she looked around for her missing shoe, and finally spotted it halfway down the hillside.  
  
Of course..........  
  
Hopping on one foot and half sliding, she skidded down to it and, picking it up, examined it. Damp with dew and other sticky substances, she wasn't surprised to find two large holes through the nylon uppers. Placing her fingers through the holes and wiggling them, she paused a moment to thank her lucky stars.  
  
She hopped about on one foot as she struggled to put it on, then stood up and looked around indecisively. With a deep sigh she finally turned and headed in the direction of the stream, careful to leave no signs of her passing.  
  
Sunday Morning 9:00 a.m.  
  
Lee pulled his still weary body from under the pile of branches that had served as a shelter of sorts for the night. With the dawn had come renewed doubts and increased worry. All he could think of was how frightened Amanda must be.  
  
Vulnerable...  
  
Alone.  
  
While his mind walked with Amanda, he lost track of his surroundings for a moment. He was jolted back to reality as he saw a flash of something indefinable ahead of him on the deer path. Lee drew his gun and slipped instinctively into the shadows, intent on finding Amanda's tormentors and bringing them down.  
  
Moving with a ghostlike silence, he increased his pace to intercept them.  
  
Sunday Morning - 9:02 a.m.  
  
Rubbing his fingers into the small footprint, the hunter brought them up to his face and noted the moisture coating them. This print was fresh, he thought, so his quarry must only be minutes ahead of him. Straightening, he swung the rifle away from his back and into his hands, wrapping the carry strap once around his wrist for support.  
  
Now, to finish it...  
  
Sunday Morning - 9:05 a.m.  
  
Some instinct for self-preservation alerted Amanda to the danger; a twig snapping perhaps, or the sudden absence of the songbird's chirping - something drove her under the cover of a massive rotting log that jutted out across the streambed. Crawling on her stomach, she bit back a screech as sticky tendrils of moss and fungus tickled her face and laced themselves into her dirty hair. A fat spider dropped onto her hand and proceeded to waddle up her arm while she stared at it - unmoving - as the soft footsteps drew closer.  
  
She could hear someone exploring the forest around the log, and she tried to keep her eyes averted so a flash of white would not give her away. She filled her mind with concealment. 'No-one here...no-one here...no-one here...'  
  
The man bent down, dropping to one knee beside her hiding place, and the gun he carried came to rest not 4 inches from her face. She stopped breathing. Her fear escalated when she realized that what he carried was no ordinary paint gun. Suddenly, everything that had been worrying her for the last 24 hours fell into place. This was no simple change in scenario. Amanda did not know what was going on, but the rules had changed and she no longer knew how to play the game.  
  
After what seemed like an eternity, the man straightened and stood beside the log and remained there for several long minutes, and Amanda waited with growing anxiety. Water dripped down into her eyes from above, a sharp rock was digging into her already bruised hip, and the spider had crawled out of sight and she could feel it wiggling into her open collar. Her tension began to build toward the breaking point as tremors rippled through her cold, wet frame. She needed to move...had to move.... but he stood in front of her best path for escape.  
  
Finally, the waiting became just too much...  
  
Silent as a cat, she undid her belt and whipped it quickly around both his ankles. Grabbing for the loose end, she jerked back with every bit of strength in her being. With a startled WHOOP, he flailed his arms as his feet were jerked out from under him, toppling over heavily to land face first into the oozing mud at the stream's edge. Amanda let go and scuttled backwards out from under the log,  
  
He was still between her and her escape.  
  
With a bravado born of pure terror, she vaulted up onto the log, "hood- sliding" across the rough surface and bringing her feet around to land with only some of her usual grace on the other side, hoping to dodge him if she could. Instead, as she landed, her feet planted themselves firmly in the small of her pursuer's back just as he was trying to lever himself up out of the mud, driving him forcefully back down. As Amanda continued forward, she was forced to use his head as a final stepping-stone as she leapt to the opposite bank, shoving him under again, choking him as his eyes and mouth filled with mud.  
  
Expecting a bullet in the back after every stride, she weaved her way up the embankment on the opposite side and disappeared over the ridge.  
  
Sunday Morning - 9:05 a.m.  
  
Lee cautiously approached the stream, keeping to the tree cover as he looked around, and searching for any sign of the enemy he thought he'd seen. Dropping to one knee beside the gigantic corpse of a long dead tree, he started to peer under it, then stopped - there was no way a grown man could fit in that space and no obvious tracks leading to it.  
  
He stood up and waited for a moment, trying to get his bearings. Just he decided to head back upstream and search nearer the cabin, he found himself driven face first into the mud as someone ran right over the top of him. Gagging and sputtering, he didn't see them escape.  
  
He was still trying to wash the mud from his stinging eyes when another specter slipped from its shelter in the rocks above and followed his attacker.  
  
Sunday Morning - 10:01 a.m.  
  
Amanda moved along the ridge above the streambed, staying to the rocks and gravel when she could to conceal her footsteps. While continually scanning her surroundings for her pursuer, Amanda tried to ignore the painful gnawing in her stomach - she hadn't known it was possible to be this hungry and still function at all. She was beginning to feel both nauseous and lightheaded at the same time, and knew that by the end of the day she would be useless. Trying to remember every documentary she had ever watched, she looked for anything edible. She was afraid to sample any of the various mushrooms she passed on the trail, not having the skill to tell the edible from the deadly.  
  
It wasn't the season for berries.  
  
The bugs still weren't looking too appetizing either, although in a few more hours she was afraid they would start to look tastier.  
  
She absently rummaged through her knapsack as she walked, pulling out the paperclips and twine. Inspiration struck and she searched until she found a straight branch approximately 4 feet long. She struggled to break it off of the tree, finally twisting it several times until it came free. Dropping down to sit with her back against the trunk, she rested the branch on her raised knees and straightened the paperclips, until each resembled a J. Using the twine, She bound all three tightly to the end of the stick, with the sharp ends pointing outward.  
  
Grasping her new spear firmly, she scanned the frequent small pools for fish as she traveled.  
  
Sunday Afternoon 1:30 p.m.  
  
From the ridge of rocks overlooking the valley, Lee could see a man dressed in black walking slowly up the streambed below, in the direction of the cabin. He watched as the other man glanced up and down the trail, then turned and began to work his way up the slope. He continued to climb, traveling below and slightly ahead of Lee's position in the rocks, obviously heading for the ridge for the same reason that Lee had - to scout ahead. Not wanting to simply shoot the man, which would give away his position to any others and destroy the only means of information available, Lee waited impatiently as he drew nearer, finally springing out of his hiding place and catching him broadside. Lee grappled with him as they both rolled and bounced end-over-end back down the hill.  
  
Lee suddenly lost his grip on the man when his head bounced off one large rock mid-way down, and consciousness fled altogether when he slid headfirst into a tree stump.  
  
When they separated, the hunter continued to roll the rest of the way down to the valley floor, losing his grip on the Glock as he fell. The gun bounced from rock to another, discharged once into the air with a loud BANG, then tumbled onto the gravel.  
  
He came to an abrupt halt on his hands and knees on the valley floor, with his rifle miraculously still slung over his shoulder, but saw no sign of his gun. He briefly considered climbing back up to finish off the unmoving enemy, but decided against it - what if the man woke up? He searched briefly for the Glock, but a low moan from the hillside caused him to drag himself erect and stagger away.  
  
Lee moaned again softly, rubbing his aching head as he struggled to sit up. Realizing the enemy had vanished, he slid the rest of the way down on his butt, determined to locate him again.  
  
This time, if he found him, he would shoot first and leave the interrogations to the coroner.  
  
Sunday Afternoon - 1:47 p.m.  
  
Amanda froze as the sharp retort of gunfire sliced through the air behind her hiding place, the half eaten raw fish in her hand dropping to the ground unnoticed. Feeling like an animal in a trap, she hesitated, not knowing which way to go. Finally, she decided to return to the scant protection of the ridges, where at least she could see her killer coming. She moved stealthily along the top of the ridge for several hundred feet, then ducked behind a large boulder to catch her breath.  
  
For several long moments she waited, but there was no movement, no other sign of danger. Sliding gingerly down the hill again, she was drawn by a dull metallic flash from the valley floor below.  
  
She stopped in shock when she saw the gun.  
  
Her distaste for firearms in general did not prevent from checking to see if this one still contained unfired rounds and noting that the safety was off. Sliding the safety back on, she jammed it into her belt and stood shakily, and headed back up.  
  
*...And I thought I was in good shape*, Amanda mused as she crawled back up the hill on her hands and knees, praying that her exhausted panting would not alert the enemy.  
  
Sunday Afternoon - 3:48 p.m.  
  
The air and ground search for Lee and Amanda intensified under the watchful eyes of Billy Melrose. Additional ground support arrived at the shack, and more than a dozen agency operatives begin to comb the forest in an expanding circle while Francine and Billy supervised from the helicopter above. The two senior agents had not spoken to each other since the morning, except for case related discussions, each caught up in their own worry for their friends and grief for the agents that had already died.  
  
That Amanda had been an intended target still seemed undeniable, and that Lee was a target by association could be inferred, however Francine's exhaustive research has turned up no candidates with both the means and motive to orchestrate the attacks. The timing and location of the operation pointed to a mole in the Agency, a fact that worried Francine. It was always hard to believe that a member of your own family would betray you.  
  
Sunday Afternoon 4:07 p.m.  
  
Amanda had stayed to the ridges for most of the afternoon, remaining as close to the general vicinity of the cabin as she dared, and had only dropped down for water only once. She had no idea where the enemy was, but as she walked along the trail near the valley floor after filling her bottle, she had a suspicion that someone was coming up the valley behind her.  
  
She struggled along the fading path, following it when it branched up and away from the streambed, growing narrower with each step. The streambed below was choked with silt and the resulting quicksand and debris made a lower path impossible to navigate. She cautiously placed one foot in front of the other and hoped that the trail, which had been undercut during the spring floods, did not collapse beneath her.  
  
Without warning, the dirt beneath her tired feet crumbled away, leaving a gaping hole underneath her. She grasped a protruding tree root as she fell, stopping herself short before she tumbled to the ground below. Heart pounding, she kept her death grip on the roots and tried to catch her feet on the other side of the gap.  
  
Finally, panting and flailing her feet, she was able to bridge the gap and reaching from root to root, pulled the rest of her body across.  
  
Trembling with reaction, her mind nonetheless saw the possibilities. Scrambling backwards down the path on her hands and knees, she began to search for sticks and leaves, which she piled up next to the gap in the trail. Careful to keep her weight away from the edges, she placed the longest sticks across the hole, then a layer of leaves, then a layer of dirt, and finally another layer of leaves as camouflage The entire process took no more that 5 minutes. She admired her handiwork as she wiped her muddy hands on her equally muddy jeans, then backed carefully down along the trail to the forest floor.  
  
Maybe if she was lucky he would break a leg...  
  
Sunday Afternoon 4:07 p.m.  
  
Lee picked gingerly at the tick he had just discovered imbedded firmly in his forearm, while he hurried along the trail. The path began to veer up and away from the valley floor, and Lee continued to fuss with the insect even as he surveyed the trail in front of him. Just as the tick disengaged from his arm with a disgusting pop, the path melted from beneath his feet with the sound of many twigs snapping, flinging him painfully down into the streambed below.  
  
Lee struggled desperately to get to his feet in the sucking mud, and then tried to drag himself along the top of the quagmire to reach the soft sandy bank. As he shoved against the mud that all but encased him, he suddenly realized that he was not alone.  
  
His hazel eyes slowly lifted to meet the gun barrel pointed directly at his head.  
  
Sunday Evening 5.51 p.m.  
  
Amanda dodged her well-armed adversary for the third time that afternoon, slithering into a small hidden crevasse as he stalked by. Realizing that her feet where dangling in mid air, she slowly slid backward and down until she could drop lightly to the ground.  
  
Illuminated by the small opening above, she realized that she was in a tiny cavern of sorts. Feeling around in the dark, she found only the opening she had come through. There was no way that anyone larger than she could fit through the opening; there were no snakes, and definitely no bears.  
  
She was thirsty, but she had finished what was in her bottle an hour ago, and didn't have the energy to climb out to find more.  
  
Amanda dropped heavily to the ground and then curled into a tight little ball on the cold sandy floor, feeling tears sting her eyes. This was a bad dream - a nightmare that had no end at all. She looked at the softly glowing dial of her watch, which had somehow miraculously survived.  
  
6:00 o'clock...  
  
She was just so tired.  
  
So tired...  
  
Amanda was asleep before the tiny glowing hands indicated 6:01.  
  
Sunday 6:15 p.m.  
  
"You look like a drowned rat, Scarecrow." Agent Phillips laughed as he returned his gun to its holster and looked for something to reach the other agent. He finally settled for pushing a downed sapling from the trail into Lee's grasping hands. As Phillips pulled him up he couldn't help but smile again at the sight of the usually fastidious Lee Stetson covered from head to toe in mud, which was already drying to the consistency of thin cement.  
  
"Where is Amanda? Has anyone found her yet?" Lee asked as he tried futilely to brush the crust from his black jeans and flight jacket.  
  
"Billy called out the cavalry as soon as you didn't check in." Henderson relied as they began to climb along the trail. "There are 15 agents scouring the area on foot, and a helicopter in the air, but so far - no sign of her. We don't even know if she is still out here. You'd think one green trainee would have been discovered by now. "  
  
Lee said nothing. He knew better that to underestimate his partner.  
  
As they walked to a clearing, Agent Phillips was already on the horn with Billy to arrange a pickup.  
  
Monday Morning - 8:36 a.m.  
  
Heart pounding in her throat, Amanda hid from the helicopter for the second time that morning.  
  
The constant tension, the cold, and the lack of food were wearing heavily on her, and she was starting to see the enemy in every shadow and behind every tree. She knew her stalker was still searching for her, and had dodged him twice after leaving the scant shelter of her cave. To her exhausted mind, he had looked different each time, and she began to think that there was more than one.  
  
A flash of dark blue to her left startled her, and she dodged behind a wide tree trunk as a man stepped out from the trees, gun in hand. He moved quietly, and she almost misjudged her timing when she tried to keep the tree trunk between them by sidling around it. He passed by within 10 feet of her, and then walked past without seeing her. Relieved, Amanda's eyes locked on the blue of his shirt as he disappeared into the forest. There was definitely more than one hunter.  
  
The first man wore black...  
  
This one wore blue.  
  
Slowly - exhausted and weak - she began the long hike back to the clearing. Lee had promised to pick her up at 3:00 p.m. sharp - so he would be there waiting.  
  
He had to be...  
  
Monday Morning - 9:42  
  
Skimming the treetops, Billy and Francine continued the search pattern from the air, while Lee took over the ground operations, still wearing the same filthy clothes from the night before. Francine had been shocked at Lee's appearance when they had landed the night before to pick him up. If the situation weren't so dire, she would have thoroughly enjoyed ribbing him. As it was, she would have to wait until Amanda was safe. There was no doubt in Francine's mind that she would be found - any other outcome just did not bear contemplation.  
  
Although he tried to keep a positive facade, Billy had grave doubts. He couldn't begin to understand how Amanda could evade a madman with a rifle, 15 trained agents, her partner, and a helicopter. Surely if she was alive, she would have been found by now. The only evidence for her continued survival was the fact that the hunter seemed to still be looking for something, as Lee had so painfully discovered.  
  
It had been decided that the air search would go on only until 2:45 p.m. Lee believed that if Amanda was still alive, she would somehow find her way back to the clearing by the cabin, and he would be waiting there on the ground when she did.  
  
Monday Afternoon - 2:46 p.m.  
  
Amanda approached the clearing cautiously, having dodged several more armed men, but stopped in her tracks - all pursuit forgotten - when the twisted wreckage came into view. The blackened, burned out corpse of the Agency helicopter dominated the meadow, and her knees grew weak as the implications filtered through the haze of fear and exhaustion.  
  
Lee wasn't here.  
  
He wouldn't be here.  
  
He...died... here?  
  
She staggered several steps closer, then her legs finally gave way and she dropped to her knees in the dirt. Tears of frustration and sorrow clouded her burning eyes and made tracks in the dirt coating her face while her mind tried to process the enormity of her loss. It must have crashed, she thought, and Lee must have been flying it.  
  
Rallying her courage one final time, Amanda crawled back to her feet, drew her gun, and began limping toward the wreck. Throwing away the caution she had lived with for the last three days, she shouted his name with all her remaining strength, hoping against hope that he would answer.  
  
"Lee!"  
  
A familiar whirring sound caused her feet to slow, and then stop. She raised her eyes to the sky with a small seed of hope beginning to grow again in her heart...  
  
At the sound of her voice, two shadows broke away from the concealing trees on opposite sides of the clearing and darted across the clearing toward her, one with a rifle already swinging into position...  
  
Monday Afternoon - 2:51 p.m. In the Air  
  
As the clearing came into view ahead of them, Francine tapped Billy's shoulder to get his attention and shouted over the cabin noise, "Oh no......Look!"  
  
They could see Amanda standing in the middle of the meadow, a gun drawn but held down at her side. She looked up at them, a tiny forlorn figure amid a field of waving grass and wildflowers. It would have been a heartening sight if not for the rest of the scene.  
  
Two others raced to converge on her position from opposite directions. A man dressed in black was overtaking her from the left, his rifle already moving up into position, while a second figure was approaching from the right. Billy slapped his hand against the console beside him in frustration, knowing they would not be able to get to her in time.  
  
He could see Lee as he ran to intercept the other man, small at first, then growing larger and larger as the helicopter prepared to touch down.  
  
Billy watched helplessly as the hunter slid to a stop a dozen feet away from Amanda, who was obviously still unaware of the danger. She had raised her arms and was waving at the helicopter, her attention focused on the sky.  
  
Billy willed her to turn around...  
  
Monday Afternoon – 2:52 p.m.  
  
As he ran toward Amanda, Lee could just see the man over her shoulder as he slid to a stop and raised his rifle.  
  
"NO!" Lee screamed in desperation, bringing up his own gun.  
  
The anguished cry cut through the oppressive sound of the rotors overhead, and with the lightening quick reflexes of a cornered prey animal, Amanda whirled to face the new threat, her own gun rising even as her finger was squeezing the trigger.  
  
Two gunshots rang out in quick succession just as the helicopter's landing skids touched the ground.  
  
Monday Afternoon – 2:54 p.m.  
  
Amanda stood stiffly, her gun held out in front of her, and her eyes wide with shock as she stared down its barrel to a point exactly seven inches above Lee's startled hazel eyes.  
  
He could see her hands start to tremble as lowered his own gun slowly, and he tried to make eye contact with Amanda as he walked toward her, but her eyes remained unfocused.  
  
"Amanda, you can put that down now, everything is going to be OK." He crooned softly, ignoring the gun that was still pointed in his direction.  
  
When Amanda didn't respond, Lee reached out slowly, until he could wrap his hand around it and gently pry the Glock from her nerveless fingers. She started to jerk her hand back, and then her wide eyes focused and finally connected with his.  
  
"Lee?" Her voice cracked.  
  
"It's alright now." He said soothingly as he gathered her into his arms and tucked her head under his chin. "It's going to be alright."  
  
They stood like that for a moment, then without warning, she shoved against him until she could hold him at arms length. Staring at her watch, she suddenly burst into tears. Lee tried to pull her to him again, completely oblivious to the stares from Francine and the other agents who began to emerge from the forest. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?" He asked worriedly as her looked her up and down, searching for any injuries.  
  
"It's only 2:55. I didn't make it until 3:00. I didn't pass, did I?" she wailed, her voice rising several octaves and breaking from stress and disuse. "I don't want to do it over." She shook her head, and then buried her face in the dirty leather of Lee's flight jacket. He looked over her head at Billy's smiling face and shook his head in wonder as he wrapped his arms around her trembling body.  
  
"No Amanda, You passed. You really did - Look at me..." He lifted her chin with one gentle finger so he could look into her eyes. "You escaped from a madman, you evaded a helicopter and 15 trained agents and, most importantly, you successfully hid from ME, and you know how good I am." Amanda was forced to smile at that, as he had intended.  
  
"I don't think there can be any doubt you passed."  
  
Tucking her against his side, and keeping his right arm around her for support, he turned and walked over to where the man in black writhed on the ground, clutching his shoulder and groaning. "Don't you know who this is?" Francine asked, as she prodded him several times with the point of her shoe. Lee shook his head, but recognition began to dawn in Billy's eyes.  
  
"Oh my God, its Sidney Webb." He exclaimed. 'You remember, Lee, that trainee from the June session?"  
  
Lee though for a moment, "Yeah, I think I do. Wasn't he the guy that failed most of his classes so spectacularly?  
  
Bill nodded, and gestured for several of his men to take the man into custody. "This is the guy. He swore that the system was rigged against him, and that the instructors and other trainees had conspired together to cause his failure. "  
  
"Revenge, then..." Lee said softly, stating the obvious. "Amanda was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." He fought down the urge to pound the little weasel into the ground like a tent stake; three good agents dead, Amanda hunted like an animal, and for what...?  
  
His anger was immediately forgotten when he felt Amanda sag heavily against his side. As her knees buckled, he reached around and swung her up into his arms and began carry her toward the helicopter. "I'll get Amanda back to the agency and have her checked out by the Doc. Anyone else coming?" He called back over his shoulder.  
  
Billy placed a restraining hand on Francine's arm as she moved to follow, ignoring her glare as he called back, "Francine and I need to finish up here."  
  
"Lee...wait a minute...I heard two shots. Who fired the second one?" Billy shouted, but the helicopter blades were already moving, drowning out his question. Although the discovery that Sidney Webb, of all people, was the mastermind behind the death of three agents had distracted him, Billy found himself looking forward to Amanda's debriefing. He was certain it would be a compelling story.  
  
He watched as Lee stopped for a moment and bent his head toward the woman in his arms, then threw back his head and laughed as he resumed walking toward the helicopter. Billy smiled at the rather tender way Lee cradled his partner as he slid her gently into the helicopter's rear seat, and wondered what Amanda had said that had so charmed the younger agent. He would try to remember to ask Lee about it....  
  
Epilogue  
  
Wrapped in a blanket, Amanda allowed herself to lean against Lee's side as the helicopter skimmed the treetops, absorbing strength just from his presence; she had missed him so. As she snuggled beside him contentedly, oblivious to what the pilot might think about their closeness, she noticed that his clothing was covered in dried mud. With her forefinger and thumb, she began to pick at it absently, peeling off one flake at a time and dropping them to the floor.  
  
Lee was still smiling from her earlier comment when he had carried her to the helicopter. Rubbing her cheek lightly to get her attention, he grinned down at her. "You would rather go through a "drive through" then go back for a check-up, huh? I can understand that. I promise I'll get you something to eat as soon as we land."  
  
"You'll be debriefed as soon as Billy gets back to the Agency, but how about giving me a hint?" Lee asked quietly, his curiosity burning for an answer. "What happened out there? How did you..."  
  
Amanda shook her head wearily, "Gosh, Lee, I don't think I can do it more than once. Its a long story, what with the snake...and... bear... and...umm ....raw fish and everything...."  
  
"Snakes? Bears? Amanda...what?" Lee sputtered, unable to form a complete sentence. Just what had she gone through out there?  
  
Raw fish...?  
  
She didn't reply.  
  
He watched her as she continued to delicately pick at his shirt. "What ARE you doing?" he finally managed to choke out in exasperation, catching her small hand in his to stop her. Startled, she looked up at him.  
  
"How did you get all covered in mud?"  
  
Lee kept her hand trapped in his as he settled in to explain. " You'll probably laugh, but I had a run-in with your friend Sidney. Embarrassingly enough, he ambushed me by the streambed and knocked me into the mud, then ran right over the top of me." Amanda raised her head in surprise as he continued, "Then, later as I was walking along the trail, it just fell out from under me and I ended up in the mud - again,"  
  
Lee could feel Amanda begin to shake and pulled her more tightly against him. She had turned her face into his shoulder and he became worried when he thought he heard her crying. "Amanda, I'm OK, I promise. He didn't hurt me...don't cry..." When she didn't stop, he pulled her up so he could see her face and reassure her, only to realize that she was laughing....  
  
Amanda just couldn't stifle it, and didn't really want to try. Each new glance at the indignant expression on Lee's face sent her into a fresh paroxysm of giggles. After several minutes she tried to take a breath and settle down enough to explain, but it still took several attempts before she succeeded. By the time she could keep enough air in her lungs to form a complete sentence, Lee had long since stopped trying to get her attention and was just watching her.  
  
He could hear the slightly hysterical note in her laughter and realized that it was a release for her, and decided to play along. 'I don't think it's that funny... I could have been killed..." He began, sending Amanda into a fresh round of weak laughter. "Look, I know I said 'You'll probably laugh' - but this is ridiculous..."  
  
She reached up and touched his lips to stop him and informed him, trying to stifle her pleased smile, "Lee, that wasn't Sidney, that was me."  
  
"Both times." She added helpfully when he just continued to stare at her.  
  
"You...?" The stunned expression on his handsome face was absolutely priceless, and Amanda burrowed contentedly under his arm, still smiling.  
  
"When are you going to tell Billy who fired the other shot?" She asked softly.  
  
Lee rested his chin against the top of her head, content just to hold her in his arms. "Tomorrow...or the next day...or maybe the one after..."  
  
"I'm sorry..." She whispered as sleep started to overtake her. "I thought that you were..."  
  
"I know sweetheart," he assured her as he lightly kissed the top of her head. "Hey, you pulled it up at the last second...you did good...." He stopped as he felt her breathing deepen and realized that she had fallen asleep in his arms. Understanding that this was probably the last quiet moment they would have together for some time, he settled her more comfortabley against his side, tilted his head back against the seat and closed his eyes.  
  
He was in no hurry for the flight to end. 


End file.
